Seasons Greetings from Dungarvan Enterprise Centre!

2014 was another busy and successful year for Dungarvan Enterprise Centre.

We ran many training workshops and seminars throughout the past twelve months and were delighted to provide information and advice to anyone who dropped by our offices with a business related query.

Some of the happenings that went on here in 2014 include:

• Crowdfunding with Lorna Sixsmith

15 people attended this event and learned about how to pitch a crowdfunding idea and what makes a successful crowdfunding campaign.

• Open Your Eyes to Alternative Funding

75 people attended this event and learned about alternative funding methods from professionals in MicroFinance Ireland, Linked Finance, and South East BIC.

• Powerful Presentations with Ian Noctor

The people that attended this event learned tips and techniques for delivering presentations and speeches,

• Introduction to Digital Marketing with Justin Kearns

The people that attended this event received a thorough introduction to digital marketing topics such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Email Marketing, SEO, and Blogging.

• Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing with the Digital Marketing Institute

21 people attended this course for ten weeks every Thursday night where they received in depth teaching and techniques from industry professionals in digital marketing.

• Website Management and Strategy with Carol Faughan

15 people attended this event where they learned how to create and maintain a website for their business using Wordpress.

• Benefit 4 Basic Internet Training

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre continued its basic internet training through the Benefit 4 government initiative. We have now put over 90 beginners through the programme.

• The launch of Help4Biz Infographic.

We launched our Help4Biz infographic to help pre-startups and startups in the Dungarvan and West Waterford region easily identify available resources.

We would also like to inform and remind you that both Enterprise Ireland and Frontier Cities currently have funds available to Waterford and the South East that might be of interest to your business.

We would love the opportunity to work with and alongside you in 2015 so feel free to get in touch in the New Year with any enquiries at dungarvanec@gmail.com or 058 23598. 

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas with warmest regards,
Dungarvan Enterprise Centre.

The Very Best of This Year's Web Summit!

The 2014 Web Summit was a huge success and the conference has in just three years managed to become "the" event in Europe.

Over 22,000 people from 109 countries attended. There was 614 speakers, 2,160 start-ups, 1,324 journalists and 2,200 staff. 

In the Digital Marketing Institute's most recent blog post their Marketing Executive Zara Burke picks her three top unmissable takeaways from the 2014 Web Summit!

1. Big Data: Means Big Audience Understanding

Big data means that brands need to gain a deeper understanding of their audience habits, i.e. what they like, what they do and when they do it. This is so  you can make your customers happy and therefore keep them loyal. 

Takeaway Point: Think how much will it cost to lose a customer and not how much it will cost to gain one.

2. Native Advertising: Tell Relevant & Real Stories

Stop creating sales messages that distract, repel and annoy and start telling stories that people want to connect with and become a part of. As brands are put into the position of publishers we need to get more contextually relevant and find a way to target the right people.

Takeaway Point: 30% of HubSpot’s ad revenue is coming from native advertising and should rise to 50% in 2016.

3. Think in Terms of Mobility, Not Mobile

Mobility is about how the device fits into your customer’s lives. It is important for us to think of mobile marketing in user-centric terms. For example, what time of the day are your customers interacting with your brand on the go and how are they doing it?

Takeaway Point: Video will play a big part in successful mobile marketing campaigns of the future. 

For more information on what went down at the Web Summit check out the following link: 15 Things You Didn't Know Happened At The Web Summit.

And for some light hearted fun why not check out YouTube vlogger and Irish Independent social media editor Claire Cullen's short video, Web Summit Terms in Irish / Gaelic / Gaeilge.

Here are 8 interesting facts from the 2014 Web Summit according to the Irish Independent:

1. The average age of the Web Summit team this year was 27 years of age. The team was made up of 110 people.

2. Just 15 per cent of the speakers were women.

3. This year's Web Summit claims to have set up 10,000 face-to-face meetings between start-ups and investors. Each meeting averaged 10-15 minutes each.

4. Thursday morning saw Nespresso serve their 100,000th cup of coffee. This is almost five cups per person.

5. The youngest developer at the Web Summit was 8-year-old Ciara Whelan at the Coder Dojo event.

6. The youngest developer in Europe was also at the event - Niall Keogh is 11 years of age and already has two apps completed, including one on the App Store.

7. Approximately 8,500 students attended talks at the Web Summit in the evenings.

8. The 'powerhouse' behind the event was Cork woman Sinead Murphy who Paddy Cosgrave personally thanked on stage at the end of the final Web Summit day.

Boost Your Online Sales With E-Commerce Expert Niall McCann

Do you trade online? Are you happy with your number of sales? Does your website show off the best side of your business? Do you think you can do better? Do you know you can do better? Or would you just like to take that first step on the ladder of e-commerce?

Then Dungarvan Enterprise Centre has the course for you!

We will be hosting one-to-one e-commerce consultations with expert Niall McCann of Woolshop.ie on Wednesday, November 12^th.

E-commerce is becoming one of the fastest growing trends in business. Here are five reasons why it is important for your business.

In 2013 alone, 43% of Irish consumers made purchases online, while 2.6 million Irish people regularly shop online. According to a report by the Digital Marketing Institute, €4.1bn was spent on online shopping in Ireland in 2011, up from €2.96bn the previous year.

However, 75% of these purchases went through companies outside Ireland. That statistic alone highlights the opportunity for businesses in Ireland to capitalise and cash in on e-commerce.

The e-commerce clinics will be held on a one-to-one basis where e-commerce expert McCann will provide trouble shooting tips on areas such as improving online sales and developing your company’s website.

These clinics are a great opportunity for online businesses to pinpoint and discuss specific issues that will boost online sales. They will also act as an informative gateway for businesses thinking of going online to find out what e-commerce is all about. Just listen to the guys in the short YouTube clip below!

This is the second time Dungarvan Enterprise Centre will be running these workshops. Last year’s participants all benefited from McCann’s sessions and were able to implement his advice which resulted in an increase in online sales.

The fee for this one-to-one private consultation is just €30. Each individual consultation will last for one hour.

McCann’s e-commerce business, The Wool Shop, sells an extensive stock of knitting wool and knitting patterns. It is a family owned business that operates from McCann’s home in Bunmahon.

As a follow on from these clinics Dungarvan Enterprise Centre hopes to establish an e-commerce network. This would allow businesses to learn from each other in a peer-to-peer environment and benefit from each other’s expertise.

To book or for more information, contact Mags on 058 23598 or email dungarvanec@gmail.com. 

Learn How to Create and Manage Your Own Wordpress Website at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre!

Need help managing and maximising your website's potential? Need help putting a website together to begin with? If so, Dungarvan Enterprise Centre has the course for you!

In conjunction with the Local Enterprise Office, Dungarvan Enterprise Centre will be hosting a Website Management and Strategy course on November 20^th.

The course, which will run for a full day at a cost of €80 per person, will be taught by industry expert Carol Faughnan.

In 2014, a website for your business is simply a necessity. If you are not online then you can bet that your competitors are! Having a website for your business gives online customers a glance into your shop window. Read here why you need a website. 

This course is suitable for people who have a Wordpress website but are not sure how to make the most of it, or for people who are looking to set up a Wordpress site for the first time. Wordpress is widely recognised as the best choice for a website. 

This course will provide you with the necessary skills to understand how to manage and run your company website while incorporating a marketing strategy. The extensive course outline will take you through the following areas: 

1. Getting Started 
   • What are the advantages of having a Website? 
   • Your Marketing Strategy
   • Your current online Presence? 
   • Discussion of Goals and Outcomes 
2. Setting up your Website 
   • Logging in 
   • Familiarising yourself with the Dashboard
   • Editing user profiles
   • Adding user profiles for staff
   • Configuring the Dashboard settings
3. Adding the right content to your Website
   • About posts and pages
   • Difference between pages and posts
   • Creating pages
   • Adding Images and thumbnails
4. Blogging 
   • Creating posts and generating titles
   • Text formatting 
   • Adding and managing hyperlinks
   • Adding Images, 
   • Youtube Videos 
   • Adding a photo gallery
   • Adding post categories and tags 
5. Customising your Website        
   • Installing and activating themes
   • Exploring the themes option
   • Installing plugins 
   • Info about various widgets and working with them
   • Setting up custom background and header images
6. Launching your online presence
• Submitting the site to search engines
• Managing users and permission levels
• Managing comments and controlling spam
• Backing up your website
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Adding social media options like facebook, twitter and many more    
• Your website Traffic                   

As well as a full day training in Website Management and Strategy, one-to-one email training will be provided prior to the event. This will allow Carol to give individual attention to each participant and to their specific marketing challenges on the day, ensuring maximium benefit from attendance.

The Wordpress course will run from 10AM until 4PM with a free lunch included at the interval.

To book a place on this course, or for more information, contact Mags at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre on 058 23598 or email dungarvanec@gmail.com. 

Still not convinced? Check out this short YouTube clip explaining in 3 reasons why Wordpress is the best!

Check Out the Results of our Training Needs Survey Autumn 2014!

The feedback from Dungarvan Enterprise Centre’s Training Needs Survey for autumn 2014 has been astoundingly helpful and informative. Through customer comment and feedback Dungarvan Enterprise Centre has received an abundance of constructive advice which it plans to implement into its programme immediately.

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre discovered that close to 55% of respondents had not availed of a course in our Centre during the past six months with the prevalent reason being due to a lack of relevancy. Dungarvan Enterprise Centre plans to combat this finding by striving to bring the businesses of Dungarvan and West Waterford the most relevant courses. This will be achieved by open communication with business owners and by researching and staying on top of evolving trends in business.

Encouragingly, a massive 97.87% of respondents said they would take a course at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre in the next six months if they thought it was relevant to their business.

Comments under this section also praised Dungarvan Enterprise Centre as a “Great place to learn” and an “Excellent service that is easily accessible”.

As well as that encouraging statistic, we also found that 68.88% of respondents had no difficulty applying courses held at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre to their business. As 26.67% of the respondents were inapplicable to this question, only 4.4% found our courses difficult to apply to the day-to-day running of their business.

Other areas that were suggested by respondents through the comment section indicated an interest in upskilling regarding business plans, health and safety, sourcing new clients, office administration and filing minute taking, and project management.

The comments section also revealed many business owners would appreciate the creation of a networking forum to combat the isolation of working alone. Dungarvan Enterprise Centre is currently putting together an e-commerce forum. This would allow businesses that sell online or wish to do so, the opportunity to learn from each other in a peer-to-peer environment and benefit from each other’s expertise.

We also learned some very interesting statistics on where respondents find information about Dungarvan Enterprise Centre. Email is proving our most effective tool of communication with 83.3% of respondents finding information on us here. Our website (31.25%) and Social Media (20.83%) are also proving strong sources of information.

Overall, we are delighted with the findings and feedback of our Training Needs Survey for autumn 2014. 93.75% of respondents believe Dungarvan Enterprise Centre keeps up to the date with current trends while 97.87% said they would take a course at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre in the next six months if they thought it was relevant to their business.

Further feedback to highlight that Dungarvan Enterprise Centre was meeting customer demands was also revealed in the final comment section where respondents stated: “All evidence points to best practice”, “All courses (and above) show that DEC are up to date with current trends”, and “Notices of upcoming events show the level of commitment DEC has in the business community”.

With the information gained from this survey, Dungarvan Enterprise Centre looks forward to implementing your feedback in our bid to bring you the most relevant and necessary courses and training in the business world for 2015. 

If there is a specific area you would like us to help you please do not hesitate to contact us by phone or email, at 058 23598 or dungarvanec@gmail.com. Or if you know somebody who you think could benefit from what we do, don’t hesitate to send them our way.

Do You Know Someone That Wants To Learn How To Use The Internet?

Past particpants of Basic Internet Training who are now online

Do you know anyone that could benefit from a basic internet training course?

Does your Mam or Dad or grandparents know how to use Skype and email?  Are they confident enough on the internet to book their own flights without your help? Do they know how to pay their motor tax online? Would they like to learn?

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre will be running a basic internet training course for beginners that will run for four weeks, starting on Wednesday, October 15th.

The course is called Benefit 4 and is a government based initiative and therefore will cost participants just €10.

After completing the course, participants will be able to use search engines, email, Skype, pay their motor tax online, and book flights online.

Unfortunately, the government scheme that provides this cost effective course is coming to an end so this is the last time Dungarvan Enterprise Centre will be hosting this course. So, if you know someone who could benefit from partaking in this course don't let them miss out on this final opportunity. We have already put 70 people through this programme!

For more information on this basic internet computer course contact Dungarvan Enterprise Centre on 058 23598 or email dungarvanec@gmail.com.  

How Good are You at Digital Marketing?

In the latest Digital Marketing Institute blog post they discuss the release of their free tool to measure your Digital Marketing skills.

In 2014, businesses simply need to be online because that is now where their customer base resides.

Did you know:

• The amount of time adults spend using digital media surpassed the amount of time they spent watching TV in 2013.
• 77% of the time we spend watching TV we are using another device simultaneously. 
• The average person now spends one in 12 waking minutes online.
• The average person checks their Facebook page 14 times a day.
• 72 hours of content are updated to YouTube every minute.
• There are more mobile phones in the world than there are toothbrushes.
• Companies that blog more than about 15 times per month, get 5 times more traffic.
• The amount of e-mail that that is opened on smartphones and tablets has increased by 80% globally in the last 6 months.
• The average consumer reads 11 different reviews along the way to completing the purchase.

From these facts, it is obvious to see that businesses that refuse to adapt to digital marketing will be left behind by competitors who choose to engage with consumers online.

Now, the Digital Marketing Institute has created the Digital Diagnostic!

The free Diagnostic will test your digital skills. You can retest yourself as many times as you want and, importantly, can benchmark your progress over time as you become more adept at different marketing skills.

The Diagnostic questions are based entirely on the Digital Marketing Institute’s exam for its industry validated Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing. 

Test your Digital Marketing skills today with the free Digital Marketing Institute Diagnostic.

Reinvent Your Career Through Digital Marketing

In the Digital Marketing Institute's latest blog offering, Pierce Ivory, a former participant of the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing course, talks about how Digital Marketing can reinvent your career.

Prior to participating in the Diploma course, Ivory worked in Production Management in a print company in Dublin. However, as the economic downturn put pressure on the print industry Ivory began to see the need for an online presence.

After upskilling with the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing, Ivory set up his own business - a Digital Marketing Consultancy, Rivelino Digital! He is now currently undertaking a Masters in Digital Marketing, again through the Digital Marketing Institute.

Here are Ivory's tips for those interested in developing Digital Marketing skills:

• Educate yourself with as much reading material as possible.
• Sign up for a Digital Marketing course.
• Network through Google+ and LinkedIn.
• Keep up to date with the industry by attending seminars.

With the starting date, September 25, fast approaching for the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing being hosted in Dungarvan Enterprise Centre, maybe Digital Marketing can propel your career to the next level too?

How to Stay on Top of the Digital Wave

Digital marketing is one of the most exciting and innovative industries at present. It is a constantly developing field.

Therefore, the big question is: How does on stay on top of the ever rising crest of digital marketing?

In the Digital Marketing Institute's latest blog post they interviewed four of their lecturers to answer the question.

Below is a summary of what leading experts Laura Grant, Steve Dalgleish, Pete Doyle and Andy Coleman divulged.

• Keep up with new software, practices and trends in the key areas that are vital to your business' digital strategy.
• Be selective and be strict with your time management.
• Read news articles and stories from reliable and professional sources.
• Join online communities as a way of monitoring trends.
• Keep learning whether it is by taking courses, reading or getting hands on practical experience.           

The experts also recommended numerous sources and tools that can prove both time and cost effective in helping you stay ahead of the curve:

• Google Partners.
• Quora.
• Google Mobile Planet.
• Google Trends.
• Topsy. 
• Googel Adwords blog.
• Search Engine Land.

Trends that they expect to dominate the digital landscape throughout 2014 and 2015 include:

• Mobile optimised ad campaigns.
• GEO location and local SEO.
• Simpler mobile payments for app purchasing.
• Measured ROI in campaigns through custom analytics. 

In summary, the Digital Marketing Institute's leading experts believe if you read all of the resources can and are constantly aware of what is going on in the digital world, you will be on top of your game!

Another Successful Coding Camp at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre!

Dungarvan's Coding Camp for Kids most recent graduates!

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre would once again like to congratulate the 15 young minds who recently finished a fantastic, fun filled, five day Coding Camp hosted at the Centre.

During the week long camp the kids learned how to create themes, code websites and build apps, as well as much much more; all in a fun and interactive manner.

The turnout for the camp was brilliant to witness and the calibre of youngsters involved certainly bodes well for the future. The energetic presence and buzz of excitement created from their attitude and passion to learn made it a week to remember at Dungarvan Enterprise Centre.

Each of the participants received a graduation certificate to acknowledge their hard work and achievements in developing their skills in computer coding.

A special thanks to everyone who made the five day camp possible, especially to Darock Media who were excellent educators to the kids throughout the week.

Parents are reminded that in September, the non-profit programme, DEC Coder Dojo, will be returning to Dungarvan Enterprise Centre.

Coder Dojo is a global movement that teaches children coding skills. There are over 420 Dojos in 43 countries.

The programme is free and runs on Saturday mornings throughout the school year.

For further updates stay tuned to the DEC Coder Dojo Facebook page. 

5 Top Traits of Successful Digital Entrepreneurs

In a recent blog post the Digital Marketing Institute outlined the top five traits they believe are necessary to make it as an entrepreneur.

Do you have what it takes? See if you check off any or all of the qualities listed in the list below!

1. Clarity

Having ambition and vision are important drives when trying to break the mould to entrepreneur "status" but having clarity of that ambition and vision is even more vital. Obstacles will try and demount you. The road to success will be long and at times unwelcoming. You will need a clear eye of your ambition and vision to reach the summit of your journey.

Ask yourself continously:

• What do you want to achieve?
• What do you want to achieve by it?
• How will you go about achieving it?

2. Communication

You need to be able to communicate - both verbally and in writing - decisively. What idea are you trying to sell to the market? If people don't understand your product why would they waste their time engaging with it? Communication is key. Communication is the gateway to success.

3. Motivation

Match your ambition with your work ethic. What separates the talented individual from the successful individual is hard work.

4. Persistence

Success doesn't happen overnight. You will fall. You will fail. You will wonder is it worth getting back up. Yes it is. Persistence always pays off, eventually. Achieving your goal, fulfilling your dream; the reward will be worth it.

5. Passion

The Digital Marketing Institute blog post lists passion as the most important trait on their list. Passion will beat money and ideas all day, everyday. This is because passion is belief in yourself, your goal, and your capabilities. You need passion because you need to be able to sell your ideas or make a success out of them. 

The passionate entrepreneur is always thinking about new ideas, reading resources, and looking for new opportunites.

For more information on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur check out this YouTube clip of Mike Stelzner talking about what he considers to be important traits in a budding entrepreneur.

3 Essential Tips for Staying Ahead in Digital Marketing

In a recent blog post the Digital Marketing Institute recommended the following three steps as essential components in maximising the benefits of your digital marketing use.

1. Familiarise yourself with Digital Marketing publications

Websites such as Econsultancy and The Drum are excellent sources of knowledge to keep your company's digital edge sharpened.

Regarding more specific channels, check the following for a more focused insight:

- Search Marketing: Moz, Koozai, PPC Hero, Search Engine Land and Search Engine Watch.

- Content Marketing: Hubspot, Content Marketing Institute and Find My Blog Way.

- Social Media: Social Media Today, ClickZ and Mashable.

2. Form a Digital Marketing strategy 

A solid strategy for a digital marketing campaign is vital for your business and the Digital Marketing Institute recommends focusing on social media, mobile and search as this allows you to have a two-pronged approach, both desktop and mobile devices, in your strategy.

Given that so many people have their mobile phone within an arm’s reach at any given time (91%, according to Forbes), mobile marketing is key. This also ties into social media marketing; with well over 1.2 billion between them, Facebook and Twitter have a massive reach for digital marketing strategies.

Customer Minds has a list of the best practices for digital marketing strategies.

3. Keep up with your competitors

You are in direct competition with so many businesses now that you need to optimise your digital marketing strategy. If you don’t, they will. If they do, they’re stealing your customers.

Digital marketing is essential for the longevity of a business.  Utilising it will offer you a measurable, solid basis to develop any new marketing strategies. 

Don't forget, Dungarvan Enterprise Centre is hosting a Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing course ran by the Digital Marketing Institute, starting on September 25th! The course will run for ten weeks, every Thursday night from 18:30 to 21:30.

Check out further course information here: http://digitalmarketinginstitute.ie/courses/type/professional-diploma-in-digital-marketing/.

The cost of the course is €1,500 per person but as part of a special offer on the Diploma, the Local Enterprise Office is running a competition that will sponsor one free place on the course. 

To avail of the competition applicants must fill in an application form along with a short, two page strategy document outlining their business' case for taking this course. To receive an application form, email Dungarvan Enterprise Centre at dungarvanec@gmail.com.

Closing dates for entries to the competition is July 24^th and the winner will be announced on July 28^th.

Dungarvan Enterprise Centre is also offering an early bird discount of €250 for all bookings made before July 31^st. 

To avail of this discount, payment must be made in full when booking.